What is SMES
State Mandatory Educational Standards (SMES) are regulatory documents that establish mandatory requirements for:
• education content,
• academic workload volume,
• leaming outcomes,
• graduate qualification level,
• conditions for implementing educational programs.
SMES are mandatory for all educational organizations regardless of ownership form.
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Standard Objectives
The main objectives of SMES:
1. Ensure a unified educational space.
2. Guarantee education quality.
3. Develop basic competencies of learners.
4. Define the minimum mandatory knowledge level.
For teachers, SMES serves as the basis for planning CSP (Curriculum and Schedule Planning), TSP (Thematic Schedule Planning), and assessment.
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Standard Structure
SMES includes:
• objectives and tasks of the education level,
• list of mandatory subjects,
• requirements for learning outcomes,
• academic workload volume,
• assessment principles,
• requirements for staffing and material-technical conditions.
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Academic Workload
The standard defines:
• weekly academic workload by class,
• permissible number of hours,
• distribution of subjects by levels.
Exceeding the established workload is not allowed.
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Learning Outcomes
SMES specifies:
• subject-specific results,
• meta-subject competencies,
• personal outcomes.
This is the basis for developing assessment criteria and formative assessment.
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Assessment
The standard provides for:
• formative assessment,
• summative assessment for a section (SAS),
• summative assessment for a quarter (SAQ).
Assessments must be:
• objective,
• transparent,
• understandable to learners and parents.
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School Responsibility
Educational organizations must:
• comply with SMES requirements,
• ensure curriculum plans conform to the standard,
• maintain documentation,
• undergo quality control.
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What is Important for Teachers
1. CSP and TSP must align with SMES goals.
2. Assessment should be criterion-based.
3. It is not allowed to exceed the mandatory standard without justified reasons.
4. Teachers can choose methodologies if the result requirements are met.